Biomedical subjects

Wigard P Kloosterman

Publications and source records attributed to Wigard P Kloosterman.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Differences in vertebrate microRNA expression.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) attenuate gene expression by means of translational inhibition and mRNA degradation. They are abundant, highly conserved, and predicted to regulate a large number of transcripts. Several hundred miRNA classes are known, and many are associated with cell proliferation and differentiation. Many exhibit tissue-specific expression, which aids in evaluating their functions, and it has been assumed that their high level of sequence conservation implies a high level of expression conservation. A limited amount of data supports this, although discrepancies do exist. By comparing the expression of approximately 100 miRNAs in medaka and chicken with existing data for zebrafish and mouse, we conclude that the timing and location of miRNA expression is not strictly conserved. In some instances, differences in expression are associated with changes in miRNA copy number, genomic context, or both between species. Variation in miRNA expression is more pronounced the greater the differences in physiology, and it is enticing to speculate that changes in miRNA expression may play a role in shaping the physiological differences produced during animal development.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Mouse microRNA profiles determined with a new and sensitive cloning method.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNA molecules of 21 to 24 nt that regulate the expression of target genes in a post-transcriptional manner. Although evidence indicates that miRNAs play essential roles in embryogenesis, cell differentiation and pathogenesis of human diseases, extensive miRNA profiling in cells or tissues has been hampered by the lack of sensitive cloning methods. Here we describe a highly efficient profiling method, termed miRNA amplification profiling (mRAP), as well as its application both to mouse embryos at various developmental stages and to adult mouse organs. A total of 77,436 Small-RNA species was sequenced, with 11,776 of these sequences found to match previously described miRNAs. With the use of a newly developed computational prediction algorithm, we further identified 229 independent candidates for previously unknown miRNAs. The expression of some of these candidate miRNAs was confirmed by northern blot analysis and whole-mount in situ hybridization. Our data thus indicate that the total number of miRNAs in vertebrates is larger than previously appreciated and that the expression of these molecules is tightly controlled in a tissue- and developmental stage-specific manner.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Cloning and expression of new microRNAs from zebrafish.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in development and regulate the expression of many animal genes by post-transcriptional gene silencing. Here we describe the cloning and expression of new miRNAs from zebrafish. By high-throughput sequencing of small-RNA cDNA libraries from 5-day-old zebrafish larvae and adult zebrafish brain we found 139 known miRNAs and 66 new miRNAs. For 65 known miRNAs and for 11 new miRNAs we also cloned the miRNA star sequence. We analyzed the temporal and spatial expression patterns for 35 new miRNAs and for 32 known miRNAs in the zebrafish by whole mount in situ hybridization and northern blotting. Overall, 23 of the 35 new miRNAs and 30 of the 32 known miRNAs could be detected. We found that most miRNAs were expressed during later stages of development. Some were expressed ubiquitously, but many of the miRNAs were expressed in a tissue-specific manner. Most newly discovered miRNAs have low expression levels and are less conserved in other vertebrate species. Our cloning and expression analysis indicates that most abundant and conserved miRNAs in zebrafish are now known.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

The diverse functions of microRNAs in animal development and disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control gene expression by translational inhibition and destabilization of mRNAs. While hundreds of miRNAs have been found, only a few have been studied in detail. miRNAs have been implicated in tissue morphogenesis, cellular processes like apoptosis, and major signaling pathways. Emerging evidence suggests a direct link between miRNAs and disease, and miRNA expression signatures are associated with various types of cancer. In addition, the gain and loss of miRNA target sites appears to be causal to some genetic disorders. Here, we discuss the current literature on the role of miRNAs in animal development and disease.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed2006

In situ detection of miRNAs in animal embryos using LNA-modified oligonucleotide probes.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 20-23 nucleotide (nt) RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. A key step toward understanding the function of the hundreds of miRNAs identified in animals is to determine their expression during development. Here we performed a detailed analysis of conditions for in situ detection of miRNAs in the zebrafish embryo using locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified DNA probes and report expression patterns for 15 miRNAs in the mouse embryo.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

RAKE and LNA-ISH reveal microRNA expression and localization in archival human brain.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small (approximately 22 nucleotide) regulatory RNAs which play fundamental roles in many biological processes. Recent studies have shown that the expression of many miRNAs is altered in various human tumors and some miRNAs may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. However, with the exception of glioblastoma multiforme, the expression of miRNAs in brain tumors is unknown. Furthermore, methods to profile miRNAs from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) archival tissues or to study their cellular and subcellular localization in FFPE tissues have been lacking. Here we report the coordinated miRNA expression analysis from the tissue level to the subcellular level, using the RAKE (RNA-primed, array-based, Klenow Enzyme) miRNA microarray platform in conjunction with Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA)-based in situ hybridization (LNA-ISH) on archival FFPE human brains and oligodendroglial tumors. The ability to profile miRNAs from archival tissues at the tissue level, by RAKE microarrays, and at the cellular level by LNA-ISH, will accelerate studies of miRNAs in human diseases.

Brain↗

PubMed2005

MicroRNA expression in zebrafish embryonic development.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, about 21 nucleotides in length, that can regulate gene expression by base-pairing to partially complementary mRNAs. Regulation by miRNAs can play essential roles in embryonic development. We determined the temporal and spatial expression patterns of 115 conserved vertebrate miRNAs in zebrafish embryos by microarrays and by in situ hybridizations, using locked-nucleic acid-modified oligonucleotide probes. Most miRNAs were expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner during segmentation and later stages, but not early in development, which suggests that their role is not in tissue fate establishment but in differentiation or maintenance of tissue identity.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Substrate requirements for let-7 function in the developing zebrafish embryo.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by base pairing to the 3'-UTR (untranslated region) of mRNAs. The let-7 miRNA was first discovered in Caenorhabditis elegans and is evolutionarily conserved. We used zebrafish embryos as a vertebrate in vivo system to study substrate requirements for function of let-7. Injection of a double-stranded let-7 miRNA into the zygotes of zebrafish and frogs causes specific phenotypic defects. Only the antisense strand of the let-7 duplex has biological activity. In addition, co-injected mRNA of gfp fused to the 3'-UTR of a zebrafish lin-41 ortholog (a presumed target of let-7) is silenced by let-7. Point mutant studies revealed that the two let-7 target sites in the lin-41 3'-UTR are both essential and sufficient for silencing. let-7 and mir221 together, but not either of them alone, can silence a construct with one of the let-7 target sites replaced by a target site for mir221, showing that two different miRNAs can provide the required cooperative effect. let-7 target sites can be moved around: they are also functional when positioned in the coding sequence or even in the 5'-UTR of gfp. We took advantage of reporter and phenotypic assays to analyze the activity of all possible point mutant derivatives of let-7 and found that only the 5' region is critical for function of let-7.

3' Untranslated Regions↗